Protecting America’s Workers Act
Latest action · Feb 7, 2019 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 7, 2019
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting America's Workers Act
This bill expands the coverage of requirements governing workplace safety and health to include protection for federal, state, and local government employees. However, the bill does not cover working conditions otherwise covered by federal requirements for mine safety and health.
The bill revises requirements governing worker protection, including by
- expanding protections for whistle-blowers, such as protections for employees who refuse to perform work because they reasonably believe the work would result in serious injury or illness and for employees who aid inspections;
- directing employers to furnish a hazard-free place of employment to all individuals performing work, not just employees;
- directing employers to report work-related deaths or certain injuries, illnesses, or hospitalizations;
- requiring the Department of Labor to investigate fatalities or significant incidents in the workplace;
- establishing rights for victims, or representatives of victims, with respect to inspections or investigations of work-related bodily injuries or deaths;
- setting the permitted period for employers to correct serious, willful, or repeated violations while citations for the violations are being contested;
- increasing civil and criminal penalties for certain violations;
- expanding enforcement requirements relating to state occupational safety and health plans;
- expanding requirements for workplace health hazard evaluations by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; and
- requiring Labor to provide training programs concerning employee rights and employer responsibilities.
Cosponsors 44
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 7, 2019 to Oct 1, 2020; 27 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-NY | Adriano Espaillat | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-NC | Alma S. Adams | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-MI | Andy Levin | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-NV | Dina Titus | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Donald Norcross | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-NJ | Frank Pallone, Jr. | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-FL | Frederica S. Wilson | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-MP | Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-MN | Ilhan Omar | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-CA | John Garamendi | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-NY | Joseph D. Morelle | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-WI | Mark Pocan | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-IN | Peter J. Visclosky | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-IL | Raja Krishnamoorthi | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-VA | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-MA | Stephen F. Lynch | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-PA | Susan Wild | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-NV | Susie Lee | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Original | Feb 7, 2019 |
| D-FL | Debbie Wasserman Schultz | Feb 11, 2019 | |
| D-CT | John B. Larson | Feb 14, 2019 | |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Mar 11, 2019 | |
| D-VA | Elaine G. Luria | May 1, 2019 | |
| D-RI | James R. Langevin | May 1, 2019 | |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | May 16, 2019 | |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Jun 10, 2019 | |
| D-MA | Ayanna Pressley | Sep 6, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Mike Levin | Sep 6, 2019 | |
| D-CA | Norma J. Torres | Oct 17, 2019 | |
| D-FL | Kathy Castor | Jan 9, 2020 | |
| D-IL | Cheri Bustos | Jan 27, 2020 | |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Feb 6, 2020 | |
| D-MA | Joseph P. Kennedy III | May 15, 2020 | |
| D-IL | Jesús G. "Chuy" García | Jul 22, 2020 | |
| D-NJ | Mikie Sherrill | Sep 24, 2020 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Oct 1, 2020 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Feb 7, 2019 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 7, 2019Introduced in House
- Feb 7, 2019Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 165, no. 24, February 7, 2019, page H1463.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| IF11619 | OSHA Jurisdiction Over Public Schools and Other State and Local Government Entities: COVID-19 Issues | Resource | Sep 13, 2021 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 2876 | Protecting America’s Workers Act | Reintroduced Bill | Apr 28, 2021 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 to expand coverage under the Act, to increase protections for whistleblowers, to increase penalties for high gravity violations, to adjust penalties for inflation, to provide rights for victims or their family members, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Protecting America’s Workers Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Business records
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Criminal procedure and sentencing
- Department of Labor
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Evidence and witnesses
- Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Inflation and prices
- Intergovernmental relations
- Judicial review and appeals
- Labor and Employment
- Labor-management relations
- Legal fees and court costs
- Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission
- State and local government operations
- Wages and earnings
- Worker safety and health
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 7, 2019Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
